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Orkney Isles

Where to start with the story of the Orkney Isles? Some 5,000 years ago, these islands were arguably the foremost cultural centre of what is now called the British Isles. History is written in the stones here. You can feel it on the streets of Stromness and Kirkwall, you can touch it in the famous world heritage sites and read about it in the celebrated museums and visitor centres.

And the natural history of these islands is just as impressive. Whether it is seabirds gathering on the cliffs at Yesnaby, or the seals watching you walk out to the island of Birsay at low tide, you can’t help but wonder at the wildlife. Travelling from island to island, from Papa Westray to the Old Man of Hoy, from the Ring of Brodgar to St Margaret’s Hope, you will discover treasure upon treasure right across this sparkling northern archipelago.

Travel back in time to enjoy today

Walking the vennels of Stromness you can sense the past from the era when Orkney seafaring folk left these shores bound for Canada and the Hudson Bay Company, right up to the days when poet George Mackay Brown weaved An Orkney Tapestry. All over these islands, ancient lives echo in the present day, whether it’s Neolithic lives at Skara Brae or Viking burials within St Magnus Cathedral, Britain’s most northerly cathedral.

Old wisdom out of the cluster of gathering shadows.
George Mackay Brown

Visitors to Orkney may live and breathe history, but you’ll also discover a rich culture bound together by music and song, food and drink, saga and myth. From diving the wrecks in Scapa Flow to walking in the footsteps of broch builders, or from fishing the waters off Shapinsay to catching the northern lights (or Merry Dancers as they are known) above North Sanday, these islands will leave you breathless.